New Life Awakening
by fireaangel
Summary: Nasake ran away from home to start a new life, but this wasn't exactly what she expected... Sasuke/OC


**New Life Awakening—Shou Ichi "Ichizoku no Hamabe"**

**Disclaimer comes first. No, _Naruto _is not mine. I'm sorry. Secondly, this story is based on a dream I had. Thirdly, this first chapter is rather long, and actually all the chapters will probably be of similar length. :D Pairings: Sasuke/OC, slight Itachi/OC, strong NaruSasu friendship; Warnings: may contain OOCness**

--

There was a legend about a clan who lived on and of the beach. They dwelled by the shorelines, keeping mostly to themselves and training in secret. This clan was extremely powerful, and all its members were required to learn the secret ways passed down from generation to generation only within the clan. Every young clan member was always excited to begin their training, and when they were of age, they began immediately, in hopes that they would earn the respect and trust of their elders. Things went this way for years, during numerous eras, and the clan watched in silence as steel buildings began to be erected and cars appeared on paved roads. But they kept to themselves as tradition was, simply refusing to become a part of this strange new world. It is said that they still lurk among us, along the coast, watching…

There was one child, however, who was intrigued by the ways of the world around her. Training tired her and housework bored her. She wanted to get away, to go outside and meet some of these strange people with their strange ways. No one would allow her to do so. And every time she brought up the subject, her training was doubled, over and over again until she had little housework to do other than carry in the salty water from the sea so it could be boiled and then used for meals and such. She eventually became so distraught that, when she figured she was old enough to take care of herself, she decided to run away.

Early one morning, before anyone else was up, she went to the ocean that stretched out endlessly before her and brought up the amount of water that would meet that day's quota. After she had brought all thirteen buckets of sea water inside, she closed the door behind her and took off, not even bothering to find a pair of shoes. Dressed in a tattered white T-shirt and rolled up khaki shorts, she set out on her own, running all morning and all night until she collapsed in the sand in front of an elegant-looking beach house many miles away from home…

--:--:--:--:--

The sun's rays burst through the window, draping a veil of almost blinding light over everything in its path with absolutely no respect for those who were still asleep. Uchiha Sasuke was one of these, and the sudden light not only surprised him to the point of awakening, it angered him too. This was the one day he could sleep in, and the clouds just had to let the sun peek through. What, were they out to get him or something? He placed his right hand over both of his closed eyes, but even that didn't seem to help.

"Fine," he declared after a moment, and sat up, putting his back to the sunlight. "I'm up, okay? I'm up."

Standing, he shuffled into the kitchen to get something to drink…which just happened to be some tea he'd left out the night before. It was cold by now, of course, but meh…who cared? He picked up the cup and stared blankly at the contents, swirling it around idly.

The downside of getting up this early was that there was nothing to do. Usually he would sleep off half the day, get up for a few hours, and then go back to sleep again. But this particular morning the sun seemed to be particularly intent on forcing him to get up earlier than he'd like to…why on earth that was so was a question to be left unanswered.

The kitchen was really all on one side of the room, which looked more like a large hallway than anything else, but it was very modern otherwise and with only one person living there, size really wasn't a problem. It basically consisted of the standard appliances and some cabinets as well as two smallish pantries. The one thing missing was a dishwasher. Why there was no dishwasher, Sasuke had no clue. It simply was not there. He didn't particularly like washing dishes, but it had to be done occasionally, unless he wanted to start eating off of paper plates.

Going through the kitchen was the only way to get to the front door, which lead to a wooden patio of sorts that featured stairs going down one side. Beneath all that was sand. Yup. Sand. It was the beach. He lived on the beach. Why did he live on the beach? No valid answer could be found. Well, unless you counted the truth of it—he'd inherited the house from his late parents, who had apparently liked going to the beach. Not that he really wanted to stay there…he just felt like he had to. Why? And again, there was no answer for that question, either.

Stepping out onto that wooden porch like he did every morning, he scanned the horizon for any signs of a change in the weather. It was supposed to rain sometime soon, but no rain had been seen…none. So far, the ocean still looked calm—at least, that's what it seemed with what he could make of it, since the house wasn't right on the shoreline—and the sky was still fairly clear, save for a few large, white and puffy clouds. The beach was void of people, except for a girl sprawled out in the sand on the edge of his property…wait, what?

There _was_ a girl there. She was a brunette, with a white shirt and khaki shorts. And it didn't look like she was there on purpose.

Leaving his cold tea inside, Sasuke walked down the steps and over to the girl, who was nearly facedown and on her stomach…and not moving. _Okay…is she dead?_ Sasuke questioned himself before kneeling down and checking the girl's pulse. Yup. Still alive. _Then what's she doing here?_ After presenting that question to himself, he realized he had come to the point of making a decision. At said point, he didn't know what to do. He could take her inside and go from there, or leave her lying there and risk being asked about it later. Hmm…let's see… talk to one person or talk to a whole lot…? The first idea sounded better.

So he picked her up and carried her inside…which lead to a debate of where to put her. Through the open doorway to his bedroom that came off the kitchen and at the far side of his room was another door that lead to a guest room, which was inevitably where the girl ended up being placed. After that it was only a matter of time before she woke up.

--

She struggled to open her eyes, finding her body heavy, her muscles sore, and her spirit weak. She absentmindedly wondered what happened…and then the memory hit her—she had been running away from home. How far had she made it, then? Where was she?

She finally managed to get her eyes open, and instantly took in what surrounded her. She was in a room with dark red walls that were touched with a hint of gold. Beyond the foot of the bed she was on was a door that opened to the left and appeared to be a bathroom. Directly opposite the foot of the bed was an off-white chest of drawers and beside that, a closet. The ceiling, wood trim, and doors were white, and there was a bedside table to her right upon which rested a lamp. Beneath her form she noticed the bed cover and sheets were a red that almost matched the walls, and in a chair of the same color with a gold accent pattern was…a boy.

She screamed.

The boy almost jumped out of the chair. "H-hey, don't _do_ that!" he stammered, trying to recover from the sudden shock.

"Who are you?! What do you want?! What am I doing here?! Where am I?!" the girl screamed back, ignoring his protest.

--

"Calm down first, please, or I can't help you," Sasuke replied somewhat forcefully.

The girl nodded slowly, her large lavender-blue eyes fixated on him fearfully.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. You were passed out in the front of my house and I just thought for safety purposes I should see who you were…without attracting any attention from anyone else. As for where you are, we're in the outskirts of Konoha."

"Like, Japan?"

"Yes."

"Kono…ha…" she said slowly, trying the word out.

"And now, may I ask who you are?"

"M-my name is N-Nasake," the brunette answered, biting her lower lip and drawing her knees up to her chin, hugging them to her as if her life depended on it.

"Nasake-san, right? What were you doing passed out like that?"

Nasake shook her head, tears in her eyes. "I-I…I ran away from home…I hate it there; please don't make me go back!"

"Where do you live?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?"

"I've always been in the same place…all I know is that it's in Japan, like Ko-no-ha."

"Why did you run away?"

All the questions were making Nasake's head spin. "Cuz I hate it! I hate it! Don't _make _me!" she sobbed, the tears threatening to spill over.

"I won't, okay? How old are you, Nasake-san?"

"H-how old? Uh…uh…" The brunette seemed to have difficulty counting or something, because she had to use her fingers more than once to try and arrive at the answer. "Um…fourteen? Yes, fourteen today. Today is my birthday." She seemed to have lost all fear now, because the next question she posed was entirely out of curiousity, "And how old are you, Uchiha-san?"

"I'm…eighteen…"

And it was back to finger counting. "So…so you're four years older than me. That's sad. I'm sorry. You don't look like you're that old." She was silent for a moment before adding, "I guess you have to do a lot of stuff, huh?"

"It's not that bad."

"Really? But I had thirteen hours of training straight…how many do you have?"

_Training? I guess she means school…?_ "Seven…almost eight. Sometimes more."

"Your system is weird, then."

"And why is that?" _Gah, it's like I'm talking to a little kid!_

"You probably haven't expressed your dislike for the system, that's why you haven't gotten more hours added on." She giggled. "That's kinda funny. Your clan must do it differently than mine."

"My family is dead."

"Oh?! I'm so sorry!! I didn't mean it! Well, I did, but uh…!"

"It's fine, they've been gone a long time so I've gotten over it."

"Oh…um, well…I'm sorry…I'm such a dunce…I really shouldn't have assumed…"

Sasuke just brushed her off. "Forget it. Back to the point, why run away? And I still don't really know who you are."

"I'm sorry! I am from the Ichizoku no Hamabe. We keep to ourselves all the time, and no one is allowed to travel, only train and help around the house. I knew there was more out there, and I wanted to be a part of it, so I ran away…I don't know how far I made it, but since I don't recognize anything I guess I'm pretty far away…now I guess I just have to find somewhere to stay…I do have a little money…do you know any place I could stay?"

"Why don't you just stay here for tonight, and then tomorrow you can go."

"Ah…uh? Okay…? But…more about you? Please?" Nasake pressed, eager for more information. Sasuke could already tell that she loved to know things. She was probably a fast learner too. This was getting to be annoying.

"Okay, fine…first, I live by myself, so this is my house and my property. Second, I go to school further into the center of town. Third, this room you're in now is the guest room, which is where you will stay. Fourth, I need peace and quiet to go back to sleep because the sun doesn't like me."

"Um…okay. What's a school?" Nasake asked. "I've never heard of that before."

"You haven't?" Sasuke was dumbfounded. Everyone nowadays was aware of school…since everyone had to be a part of it.

Nasake shook her head honestly.

"Geez…it's a place where you go to…learn things…and that's pretty much it. You have teachers, called sensei, who give you the information and you're supposed to learn it and then you take tests on it and stuff…"

"My teachers, my sensei are my shishou…"

"You have a shishou?!"

"Yes, of course. You don't?"

"N-not really, no…"

"Huh, that's strange. I actually have lots of them. But my personal shishou is really the only one I refer to as shishou. The others aren't really titled… Anyway, why doesn't the sun like you?"

"I was joking…"

"Oh."

--

Half the day had already passed. Sasuke had indeed gone back to bed and slept away most of the day, and as it was nearing afternoon Nasake was growing tired herself. But, looking out the window of Sasuke's room (she had snuck in there, she had to admit…) she noticed that there was something different about the sky. It was darker than it should be. And maybe that was the factor making her feel so out of sorts. She hadn't seen the sky like this before…only blue during the day or black at nighttime, so this weird grayish color was a little scary.

She looked from the window to Sasuke, who was still asleep. Maybe he would wake up soon? She hoped so, because even though she barely knew him he was still someone she could hide behind if the sky continued obtaining out-of-the-norm colors.

This room wasn't as bright as Nasake's room. The walls were dark blue, and all the furniture was a dark-colored wood. Even the sheets on Sasuke's bed were dark—the same color as the walls. After noting this Nasake realized that the head of her bed faced the head of Sasuke's bed. For some reason this struck her as odd, but she didn't really know why. Then the other thing bothering her…why wouldn't he wake up already?! It wasn't that she wanted him to, it was more that having him awake would make her feel less alone. At the same time, however, with him asleep she didn't have to talk to him. It was a no-win situation.

She was still afraid of him, or rather what he could do to her. There were many possibilities, and none of them much better than the others. Even though he didn't seem that bad, she knew their earlier conversation had only uncovered a tiny bit of who he really was, whereas Nasake had pretty much told him everything about herself. It was what she didn't know about him that scared her. What was he capable of? And, regardless of _what_ he was capable of, would he do any of it? Thus her mind was constantly busy thinking of scenarios and then solutions to those scenarios, most of them involving her running away.

Even though he was still asleep, Sasuke seemed to sense her heavy stare. His turning to the other side scared Nasake even worse, which caused her to gasp and dive into a nearby corner. Hugging her knees to her chest, she closed her eyes and just sat there, trembling. When she realized he wasn't going to do anything to her, she slowly opened her eyes and unfurled from her position as quietly as she could…knocking over a floor lamp in the process.

"Uwahh!" she cried as it hit the floor and disassembled itself, shattering the lightbulb and fracturing the frame. As would be expected, that woke Sasuke up. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!!" Nasake yelped and tried to run back to her room, but after tripping over the lamp and falling to the floor, she ended up crawling instead.

Sasuke had gotten out of the bed by then, and was rubbing his eyes as he followed Nasake to her room. "What did you do?" he asked her directly, but got no answer other than "I'm so sorry!" from the form hiding underneath the red sheets. He looked to his left, through the open doorway, to see Nasake's mishap strewn across the floor.

"I'm sorry!" Nasake sobbed. "I didn't mean to! I was trying to be quiet but I wasn't paying attention! I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine, it's fine…okay? Chill out…"

"Eh? R-really? But…" The brunette poked her head out from the sheets and looked up at him in amazement, tears dripping onto the floor now. "But I'm a guest here…and that was yours, and I broke it, so…"

"I told you," Sasuke repeated, "it's fine. But I would like to know why you were in my room in the first place."

"Oh, that." Nasake sat up, tossed the sheets aside, and wiped the tears from her face. "Well, I was curious as to why the sky was so gray…and my room doesn't have a window…"

_I get it. She was just looking out the window._ "Are you hungry yet?"

"A-again? No, I'm fine…just thirsty maybe?" Nasake was quite surprised by this question. Since they had already eaten lunch, she had considered herself well off for the rest of the evening. But she figured she should try and be polite, whether it was to eat or to refuse to eat.

"Do you want tea then? It's all I've got except water and milk…I haven't been to the store yet."

"You have tea?" Nasake bounded off of the bed and ran past him, through his room, and to the kitchen doorway. "I'll make it then!"

Sasuke blinked. "Eh? You will?"

Nasake smiled. "Yes, of course! That's the only thing I'm good at, except fighting…but I'm not really even good at that…"

"Then I guess you can try," Sasuke said, following her path. He paused at the broken lamp mess but decided to forget about it for the time being and just walk around it.

"Thank you so much! Oh…" Nasake's gaze fell on the mess again, and she instantly felt bad. "Please, how can I make that up to you?" she asked, pointing to it. Sasuke stopped walking and looked down at it.

"Meh, I'll take care of it."

"No! No! I will clean it up! I just wanted to know if I could make up for it."

"Cleaning it up is good enough for me," Sasuke replied, walking past her and stopping in front of the sink. "You're my guest anyway, so you shouldn't have to make up for an accident." He reached up to the cabinet above the sink and got out the tea he'd used yesterday, placing it on the counter.

"Well…" Nasake was at a loss for words. He was right, after all, but she knew she would still feel bad, even after making tea and cleaning up the 'accident'. "Uh…um…what…what if I cleaned your whole house? And made dinner for you?"

Sasuke did a double take. "What?! That's way too much…for just a broken lamp!"

"No it's not, and I'll even do more!" Nasake begged. "Please, I'll do anything, just forgive me!"

"I forgave you at the first 'sorry'."

"Y-you did?"

"Yeah. So don't feel like you have to do any of this, okay?"

"B-but I…I still want to."

Sasuke sighed. "Fine. If you must."

"Thank you!" Nasake chirped, her whole mood lighter now. "Thank you so much!"

--

"So…how is it? Do you like it?" Nasake asked timidly, blushing a bit and averting her gaze for fear of rejection. They were sitting at the table, which was next to the window Nasake had been looking out earlier. It was there because there was room for it to be, and also because there was no official 'dining room', so Sasuke had had to improvise when making one. It didn't get used much, though, since most things got eaten in the kitchen anyway. Its usefulness amounted to pretty much nothing more than something else to set things on…or where guests would eat if he ever had any guests. Nasake was the first official one.

"It's…it's amazing. Where did you learn to make tea like this?"

Nasake blushed. "Oh, that's nothing. Everyone in my clan has to learn how."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "So it's like…a secret recipe?"

"Not exactly…"

"I see."

It really _was_ good. It wasn't too sweet, but it wasn't too bland either. There was an extra flavor in there—maybe even two or three more—that he had not noticed before. And was that underlying taste hinting lemon…or cinnamon? Or both? Or was it apple? Wait, _apple_? He didn't know. It just tasted good.

Nasake had cleaned up the lamp remains after making the tea, and then she had cleaned the entire house, from top to bottom, just like she'd said. It was all really amazing, especially since it was only about three or four in the afternoon (no one had bothered to look at the clock) and the brunette was already done with everything. Except dinner. She was contemplating dinner at the moment.

"So, I don't really know what you like…"

"What do _you_ like?"

"Oh, I have no preferences…my clan practically lives off rice."

"Rice isn't that bad."

"Plain rice? Every day? You'd get tired of it too."

"I guess I would."

"So anyway…what do you want for dinner? I mean…"

"It doesn't matter. I really don't care."

"…well, I was going to say that I only know how to cook things that involve rice, so, um…"

"Like I said, it doesn't matter…you don't even have to cook if you don't want to. It's not like I asked you, anyway."

Nasake bit her lip and looked away. "But…I wanted to."

"Then just go on in and do so, okay?"

"You're right! I should!" And she jumped up to do just that.

--

After dinner Nasake was back at the window, watching the clouds creep over the ocean much like a veil. And why was the ocean looking so angry? She didn't voice any of her questions about it, though. She thought it would be best to leave Sasuke alone, especially since she felt she had been nothing but a nuisance all day. _Tonight. Just tonight, and then I'll go_, she thought to herself, attempting to form a plan for tomorrow in her head, however meager it might be. She couldn't stay more than a night…even if it was offered, which she didn't think would happen…because she didn't want to be a burden to anyone. And besides, she could take care of herself…right?

Sasuke was still sitting at the table. He was busy doing something with books and papers, though what he was doing Nasake didn't know. He had called it 'homework' but that word was meaningless to her. She just figured that whatever it was, it was important, so she needed to be quiet and stay out of the way.

Nasake's attention was drawn immediately to what was beyoned the window when all of a sudden, the ocean seemed to throb, thrusting a sizeable wave onto the shore. This was normal. The tide was coming. But it seemed different…like it shouldn't be rising up so high or climbing the shore so fast. Another thing bothered her—there was no moon. To her clan, that was a bad sign. Was it to everyone else?

"What's wrong, Nasake-san?"

"Huh? Uh…nothing, I'm sorry." _That startled me…_

Sasuke leaned back a bit to try and see out the window. "No…it's not nothing…you seem worried. Is there something outside?"

"Uh…well, it's just unusually dark, and the ocean looks angry or something…I was worried that something bad might happen, but if it's normal, then I shouldn't be…" She trailed off, not finishing the rest of her sentence.

"Finally," was Sasuke's response. Nasake gave him an odd look.

"Ehh?!"

"There's supposed to be some rain headed our way…seems to me like there's gonna be a storm."

As if on cue, thunder boomed loudly overhead, scaring Nasake out of her mind and sending her diving back into her bed. _What was that?! That sounds awful!!_

"That," Sasuke answered her silent question from the other room, "was thunder. So I guess we'll be having a storm after all. Great."

Nasake couldn't tell whether he was being sarcastic or not, but she didn't have much time to dwell on it, because that loud, crackling explosion of sorts came again, and although she knew it had something to do with the storm, (whatever a 'storm' was) it sounded a lot more like the end of the world to her. And so she pulled the covers over her head and curled up in the fetal position underneath them, shaking violently.

"Nasake-san? Are you okay?"

"Yes—I'll be fine, I think…I gue-maybe??" she answered shakily, but immediately after she did the thunder came again and she shrieked, "No!! Of course not!"

"Hey…you don't have to be scared, you know. That sound? It's thunder, remember? That only happens in the clouds. And the other part of the storm is just rain. You do know what rain is, don't you? It's water that falls from the sky. The storm's not gonna hurt you."

_It's not? But why does it look so angry? Why does it sound like it wants to hurt me?_

--

"It won't hurt you…so you don't have to be afraid."

Sasuke didn't think it was a good idea to tell her about lightning, another part of storms, because she was already scared enough…and hearing about electric bursts that were hotter than the sun would probably make her have convulsions. Or something. He didn't particularly like storms either, but to him they were more of a nuisance than an object of fear.

Having already finished his homework (so annoying) he had nothing else to do but…go back to sleep…? He finally glanced at the clock. Seven-thirty was too early to go to bed, but again, there wasn't really anything else to do. At least nothing that posed interest to him at the moment.

The rain had started, but the thunder had stopped, which was a good thing. Nasake, he knew, would never get to sleep if it continued, and he also knew that he himself would have difficulty with the same matter, although he could sleep through it easily. _I guess I should see if she's okay,_ he thought, walking into the guest room to see her face just barely poking out of the sheets, her eyes closed and her breathing even. _How the…? She's already asleep?_ Turning out the light, he left the room and turned out his own bedroom light. That girl was definitely strange…

--

Even in her sleep she could feel the darkness closing in around her, smell the rain pouring down, sense all that was ominous. Thunder still rolled, but not as loudly as before, and the occasional flashes of lightning weren't bright enough to wake her from her slumber. She was no longer huddled underneath the sheets, but rather they gathered up around her waist while she was lying on her back, head tilted to one side, with one hand near her face and the other on her stomach. Her chest rose and fell evenly, slowly, giving signs to the world that this was a peaceful moment in her temporary unconsciousness. She wasn't dreaming. Her subconscious was blank and rather empty. She didn't dream. She couldn't. Ever since that one incident…

Suddenly the thunder decided to tease the sleeping girl again. It crackled and boomed loudly as the lightning split the dark sky open, coloring the world white for a flash of part of a moment. Nasake instantly woke, and with a sharp gasp she brought her knees to her chin yet again and sat there, trembling in fear. The room lit up again and was followed shortly by another roar of thunder, making Nasake flinch and somehow draw into herself more. As tears started to make their way down her cheeks, she reached a decision. She could go in the other room…just so she wouldn't be alone. That wasn't stepping out of bounds, was it?

This time the thunder sounded much like a whip being cracked, and then the sounds blended together, making it a messy blend of deep drumrolls and crackling that seemed almost unnatural through the heavily pouring sheet of rain. Nasake slowly crept out of her room and into the next one, still shaking and crying but trying to be quiet. She peered at Sasuke through the darkness and involuntarily shuddered. How was he able to sleep through this?!

The storm grew louder suddenly, causing Nasake to yelp in fright and cower away. She crashed into a bedside table and yelped again, which in turn woke Sasuke up. "Oww…" the brunette cried to herself.

"Nasake-san? What's wrong now…?" she heard Sasuke mumble from the bed.

"Ah! Um…well…I…I'm sorry, I…AAAH!" (Even though the thunder wasn't so loud this time, it still scared her.)

--

_Oh great…not only is she afraid of thunderstorms…she comes to me for consolation…and I barely even know her…_

Sasuke wasn't too happy with this girl suddenly coming in and interrupting his sleeping _again_, but he couldn't just ignore her tears and deny her reassurance…well, he could, but it wouldn't be a very nice thing to do.

_Gah…what does she expect me to do, anyway?_ Sasuke asked himself in annoyance, finally pushing himself into a semi-sitting, upright position. Then the thought crossed his mind to just throw her out into the storm, but seeing the look on the girl's face was so depressing that he felt almost true regret in even letting himself think the thought. "Nasake-san…"

"I…I'm so sorry! So sor-I'm so sorry!" Nasake cried, sobbing into her hands. "I can't believe I can't…even stand through a storm…without being afraid…I'm so pathetic…"

Okay, now he felt even worse. "Nasake-san, it's just a bunch of rain anyway…you're right, you don't need to be scared. But I don't think you're _really_ pathetic. You're just telling yourself that."

"No-no-no, it's _true_!" the brunette sobbed harder, shaking her head and sinking to her knees. "I'm so sorry, just please…" She brought her hands down slowly from her tearstained face and looked up at Sasuke equally slowly, adding slight drama to the situation. "…please, can I stay in here with you?"

Well, that wasn't too difficult a request, but Sasuke knew he wouldn't be able to sleep if Nasake was jumping and screaming at every single little thing. Again the thought of throwing her out crossed his mind, but he ignored it again. It seemed the storm had quieted down now, and the strength of lightning had diminished, which allowed the thunder to only barely roll in the distance, presenting itself only as a subtle threat to those who cared to pay any attention. This momentary lull in the storm was what gave Sasuke time to analyze the situation with little distraction, and it let Nasake gain a bit more confidence to come to terms with the present and ignore the storm surrounding.

"Look, where will you stay if you're in here with me? The farthest place away from the window is my bed," Sasuke finally said, sighing and falling back to the pillows. "So what're you gonna do? Cower at the bedside?"

Nasake nodded a bit. "M-maybe… B-but could I even do that?"

"Ugh…naturally, of course you can…"

Upon hearing this response, the brunette stood again and took a step forward, elated that she had been allowed a place of safety…but just at that very moment, the storm outside not only surrounded, but engulfed the place in heavy rains and the loudest thunder yet, causing Nasake to scream at the top of her lungs and seek shelter…in Sasuke's bed. She glued herself to his back and gripped his shoulders like it was the end of the world or something and by simply hanging onto something she would survive.

"What the?! Get off me!"

"Uh…I'm s-sor-ry…" Nasake cried, realizing her position but not wanting to let go.

"No! Gah! Go away!"

"NO! I don't wanna die…"

"You're not going to die!"

"How do _you_ know that?!"

"I just do, okay?! Now let go!"

He felt the brunette shake her head. "No," she said. "I won't. I _can't_."

"What do you mean, you can't?!"

"Stop yelling, please, stop yelling at me!"

Sasuke set his jaw. "Let go of me, and maybe I will."

--

Nasake thought this over quietly. There _was_ a good side to that offer, but at the same time she didn't want to give up the potential safety she had obtained. Then again, she was practically hugging a total stranger. Maybe she _should_ let go.

And she did.

Sasuke, after being released, immediately jumped up and took a few steps away from the bed. "Now, could you get out? _Sleeping_ with me is not an option, you know."

Nasake started crying again; rather, she cried harder. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to, but the…the thunder scared me again. I've never experienced anything so scary before, and there was never anyone to tell me…it was okay…you're the first one…to tell me that."

It was burned into her memory; there were times she had been locked in death rooms and ordered to find a way out. She had been so scared at first, and no one had ever consoled her, not even after she found her way out. Eventually she learned to have no fear of death rooms, or lots of other things as well. But she had never gone through a thunderstorm. It was just her luck that this was the worst one that had occurred in years. She sniffled and pushed herself up, making to get out of the bed and go somewhere else, but Sasuke pushed her back.

"Nevermind," he said somewhat angrily. "I'll allow this…but only just this once."

_What does he mean by 'just this once'? I'm leaving tomorrow,_ Nasake thought to herself, pondering the choice of words used. _As far as I know, it could even already be tomorrow…_

She presented some difficulty to Sasuke in the form of not wanting to move over, but finally he got her to at least give him a little space on 'his' side of the bed. No sooner had he gotten back in did Nasake reattach herself to him again…which made him realize that he wasn't going _anywhere_ for the rest of the night.

What an awkward situation.

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TRANSLATIONS

Ichizoku no hamabe (beach clan, literally 'clan of the beach')

Nasake (kindness/compassion)

Shishou (martial arts master)

Sensei (teacher)

Shou Ichi (chapter one, I think)

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Well, what did you think? Is it good so far? I think I might have taken it a little too much to the extreme with the storm…but…oh well :P


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